Ho Chi Minh and the Mausoleum – No introduction to Hanoi can take place without a review of the life of Ho Chi Minh (affectionately called “Uncle Ho”) and the role that he played in the birth of the new Vietnam nation after World War II.

Uncle Ho was first and foremost a freedom fighter for Vietnamese independence. Born Nguyen Sinh Cung in Central Vietnam in 1890, Uncle Ho learned Chinese from his father, an imperial magistrate and Confucian scholar, and later attended French school in Hue. In 1911, he left Vietnam and, for the next 30 years, traveled widely, living in several different cities including: Paris, Moscow, Bangkok, Canton, New York, and Boston. During that time, he became fluent in several languages and became active in the communist movement – enamored particularly with Russian communism. He returned to Vietnam in 1941 to lead the Viet Minh independence movement – taking advantage of the opportunity to organize resistance to the Japanese occupation. During this period, he and the Viet Minh had support from the precursor to the CIA (the OSS).

After the Japanese surrender in August, 1945, Ho Chi Minh declared independence in September (with OSS officers at his side). However, the French moved to reassert themselves in their colonial role, which led to armed conflict with the Viet Minh, the eventual surrender of the French at the battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, and the division of Vietnam by the Geneva Conference into two states at the 17th parallel.

Ho Chi Minh led North Vietnam during the civil war that erupted between the two states, and afterwards when the U. S. entered the struggle to protect the catholic minority in South Vietnam. “Uncle Ho” died in 1969 with the civil war still in progress. Victory for the Viet Minh and reunification of Vietnam did not happen until 1975.

Party leadership, seeking to deify Uncle Ho, sent his body to Moscow for the unique soviet embalming treatment, against his expressed wishes to be cremated. His embalmed body sits today for viewing in a huge mausoleum in Hanoi on the grounds of the French-built Presidential Palace and the small wood home that Uncle Ho built as his own residence and died in.

Temple of Literature – In 1070, the Vietnamese emperor built this Confucian temple to honor Vietnam’s writers and intellectual elites. Shortly after, it became Vietnam’s first university. It is preserved today as a beautiful example of Chinese-influenced Vietnamese architecture. Students come here today to celebrate their graduation.

Hoa Lao Prison – The French built this large prison complex in the 1896 to house Vietnamese political prisoners fighting against French rule. After its gruesome period in this capacity, part of it was used to house pilots shot down during the war with America. The prison, dubbed by American’s the “Hanoi Hilton”, was home to John McCain for six years.

Most of the prison was demolished in 1993 for development, but a section was preserved as a museum. It is largely dedicated to telling the stories of Vietnamese revolutionary patriots who were housed here. There is a section covering the American prisoners and an large exhibit on the conflict with America, that provides a fairly straightforward and respectful treatment of this time from the North Vietnamese perspective.

Water Puppet Show — This is a unique Vietnamese form of entertainment that originated in villages of the Red River delta in the 11th Century. The puppets perform to traditional music in a waist deep pool of water, manipulated by bamboo poles worked underwater by puppeteers who are behind the backdrop. The stories are folk tales from rural Vietnam. Puppetry is a favorite form of entertainment in SE Asia – this Vietnamese water-borne version is a clever and captivating variant on that.

Ancient Quarter – The “36 Guild Streets” Area — In the 11th Century, after the Citadel was built as a center for royal authority, the area between the Citadel and the Red River was laid out in a pattern of 36 streets, each named after a particular craft or commodity of the guild that was based on the street. There was a cotton street (Hang Bong), a copper street (Hang Dong), a chicken street (Hang Ga), a fish sauce street (Hang Mam), a conical hat street (Hang Non), and so on.

The original streets have a few houses and temples hundreds of years old that have been restored and preserved and are open for visitors. These gorgeous buildings display the elegant crafting and fine furnishings that reflect the prosperity of those times when Hanoi was an active trading center on Vietnam’s second largest river.

The typical houses for this time were “tube houses.” They were narrow on the streetside (3 to 4 meters) (to keep the taxes assessed on frontage low) and long (up to 120 meters) — and typically two stories high. The house would have a ground-floor room in the front (which might serve as the shop or storefront). That would followed by an atrium open to the sky to get air into the center of the house. Then a kitchen and bedrooms in the back. The second floor in the front might be set up as a shrine.

Preservation is going forward on other old buildings in the Ancient Quarter. The temples are Confucian and demonstrate the heavy Chinese influence, particularly in the Northern part of Vietnam.

The Ancient Quarter is characterized by narrow streets, small buildings with storefronts that spill out onto the sidewalks, restaurants that serve customers sitting on small plastic chairs

Over the centuries, more streets have been added (now 76), and the guilds have moved around. There are still many streets where all the merchants sell the same items. But now streets specialize in electrical appliances, hardware, and other accoutrements of modern life.

1000 year mural — Hanoi celebrated the 1,000th Anniversary of its founding as the capital city by Emperor Ly Thai To in 2010. As part of the celebration, artists created a very colorful ceramic mosaic mural along the main highway out of Hanoi. The mural is 6 kms long and took 3 years to build. It may hold the title for the longest mosaic mural in the world.

Lights around the lake at night – We leave Hanoi with a final nighttime walk around Hoan Kiem Lake. The lake is colorfully lit in the evenings, creating a great venue for an evening stroll and the weather is perfect.

Next Stop — Ha Long Bay – We head next to Ha Long Bay on the South China Sea – A UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. It is a 2 to 3 hour drive due east from Hanoi.